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I have an oak-aged IPA (part grain) conditioning in the bottles, a Belgian Wit (part grain) going on two weeks fermenting (pretty much done) and an Oatmeal Stout (all grain) that I just brewed Saturday. Next up: Hopzilla clone (an all Marris Otter DIPA; tons of hops).

So, guys, where does one go to learn about homebrewing? My two favorite styles are belgian saisons and IPA, the latter I've heard being relatively simple to brew, and the former much more difficult.

There are many, many resources, but two stand-outs for me were John Palmer's How to Brew (more than you'll ever need to know), and the HomeBrewTalk forum. Read, read, and read some more - there are a lot of helpful people out there, but just as many who will direct you to these resources (and others) for answers to common questions.

There are many, many resources, but two stand-outs for me were John Palmer's How to Brew (more than you'll ever need to know), and the HomeBrewTalk forum. Read, read, and read some more - there are a lot of helpful people out there, but just as many who will direct you to these resources (and others) for answers to common questions.

These look like they offer more than enough info for me. Thanks very much.

I started with a Mr Beer kit about 2 years ago, and have "graduated" to 2.4 gallon all grain batches. simple BIaB on my stove top, and I still ferment in my MB plastic keg. has worked so well, that I added a second one of them to either have a variety fermenting at once, or to double up and get darn near 5 gallons.

I just bottled a beer that is in the vein of the SA Noble Spring seasonal. it is a blend of 2-row, pale ale, and munich base malts, along with a dash of honey malt (not actual honey mind you!) that was hopped with Tettnanger at FWH and 15 minutes. fermented using Cal-Lager from Wyeast. the sample at bottling was very nice. a definite nod at a lager, but with a nice floral, slightly citrus, with a dash of sweetness taste. really looking forward to having a carbed up bottle in a month or so!

fermenting away is a Cali-Helles...which is basically a standard helles recipe that I am fermenting with the same Cali-Lager yeast. this one I double up on, so both of my fermenters are occupied

I started with a Mr Beer kit about 2 years ago, and have "graduated" to 2.4 gallon all grain batches. simple BIaB on my stove top, and I still ferment in my MB plastic keg. has worked so well, that I added a second one of them to either have a variety fermenting at once, or to double up and get darn near 5 gallons.

I just bottled a beer that is in the vein of the SA Noble Spring seasonal. it is a blend of 2-row, pale ale, and munich base malts, along with a dash of honey malt (not actual honey mind you!) that was hopped with Tettnanger at FWH and 15 minutes. fermented using Cal-Lager from Wyeast. the sample at bottling was very nice. a definite nod at a lager, but with a nice floral, slightly citrus, with a dash of sweetness taste. really looking forward to having a carbed up bottle in a month or so!

fermenting away is a Cali-Helles...which is basically a standard helles recipe that I am fermenting with the same Cali-Lager yeast. this one I double up on, so both of my fermenters are occupied

oh! the first use of the yeast WAS definitely a steam/cali common beer as it was intended for. I've got it on tap right now too, and it turned out great. anyone into Anchor Steam can easily create a remarkably similar beer on the home brew level.

Made the Brewer's Best Witbier kit yesterday. Not terribly difficult, though it took longer than I thought (getting the wort back to boiling temperatures after adding extracts takes awhile). Like every other first-timer, i'm worried that the yeast won't take, but will check the airlock in a few days.

oh! the first use of the yeast WAS definitely a steam/cali common beer as it was intended for. I've got it on tap right now too, and it turned out great. anyone into Anchor Steam can easily create a remarkably similar beer on the home brew level.

Good stuff. I'm highly interested in both steam beers (lager yeast used at ale times/temps) and other cheats for lager recipes (e.g. Rogue's Dead Guy, a Lambic recipe fermented with an ale yeast). I simply don't have the space/equipment/patience for traditional lagers.

Brewing Update: Lied about Hopzilla; I'll probably do a variation on a theme here soon, but the goal being to minimize ingredients and really get a flavor for the few that I use. Still thinking of an IIPA based on Maris Otter, and a single hop variety used at every interval (including TWO dry-hop intervals). Maybe Cascade. Instead, I did brew an all-grain Belgian Strong. The yeast is still going at it (as expected - lots of work for it to do!). I lost patience entirely and sampled my Belgian Wit after just a week in the bottle, and I'm encouraged. It's very sweet, and doesn't have a great head on it yet, but the flavors are all there. Excited to try this again after another week. Oh, the IPA was tainted. Down the drain, sadly.

oh Josh...that sucks to get a dumper! at least the wit sounds promising. if you are interested, check out a recipe on my little blog site thing called "8 of 9 lives". it is a dead guy ale clone, and it was absolutely fantastic. easily one of my best batches ever. I had the confidence to do a blind side by side with a real DGA with 3 people...and 2 of them thought that mine was the commercial version. it was a proud (and tasty) moment in my brewing history.

and RTB...no worries, every brewer on EVERY batch always is wondering if the yeast are going to get to work! I hope you stick with it, as it really is a lot of fun, and you will eventually amaze yourself with a "wow, I made that?!!" moment.

and we can get into starters and stir plates, yeast rinsing and repitching, or ... hahaha it just keeps on going!

Yep, can't wait to beat the heat with this one. Its been too long since I brewed, so I was a little worried about something going wrong. Besides my equipment being pretty dirty, it all went great.

Only hitches were that I had a hard time finding my Fermcap, which I have to use when doing a full boil since my kettle is pretty small. I also had to improvise a hop sack. I could have just thrown in the hops, but I find it much cleaner without all of the hop matter ending up in my fermentor. I was also missing an O ring on the hose attachment for my immersion chiller. Luckily I decided to test out all of the chiller connections before the boil was over. I was able to salvage an O ring from a garden hose.

After that, I do a double batch sparge, with no mahout, and drain the tun before sparing.

boil was 90 min, then chill to 60F as fast as humanly possible.

I usually do a 1L starter, but was lazy this time. I pitched a fully expanded pack of Wyeast 3068. I had to get rid of my ferm cabinet in my last move, so I'm going to ferment as close to 70F as I can manage. This is my first fermentation in this house, so I have it in a dark room right next to the AC register on the floor.

sounds like a quality recipe IMO. almost the exact same as mine, right down to the yeast and desired fermentation temperature. I find that I get a bit stronger of the banana ester profile around 70°, and that it what I enjoy in my hefes. best of luck with the ferment!

oh, and that Fermcap is like magic! especially when using 3068...one time without it, ugh. just that once was plenty to learn that those few drops make all the difference in the world